England had won just one of their previous 17 Tests before new coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes oversaw a dynamic revamp of their long-format game dubbed “Bazball”, in reference to McCullum’s nickname.
Since then, England have batted at 4.82 runs per over while winning 14 of 18 Tests, with four defeats and a rain-affected draw.
“Bazball is exciting to watch,” Bavuma told Rapport newspaper. “They [Stokes and McCullum] have taken England to a new level with their fearless intent which sometimes swings matches in their favour. I watched it and tried to understand aspects of Bazball implement by playing fearlessly.”
After a lean period with the bat, Bavuma came good earlier this year with two ODI hundreds and 172 against the West Indies that ended a seven-year Test century drought.
“Things just clicked,” Bavuma said. “From a mental point of view, I remained combative. I didn’t give myself over to negative thoughts at all. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, I was mentally ready to take it.
“In terms of my upward curve in Test cricket of late, a few things have played a part. I’ve refined my technique. My mindset has also been that I want to be one of the leading batsmen in the team. I want to be in pressure situations stiffen my back.
“But I don’t just want to get 60s or 70s in those situations. It gives you chances, but it doesn’t win you matches. I want to make contributions that help South Africa win matches.
“As for that 172, it feels like I mentally found a plan and method on how to get big scores.”
